It wouldn't be a Hitchcock movie if the hero didn't go into the basement where the scary guys were hiding. For three local homeowners, heading downstairs brought on the same attack of goose bumps. But they've overcome their fears and transformed those dungeons into living spaces they don't want to leave.

A Midtown makeover

Joey Ivansco / jivansco@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Will Pollock's 1921 home in Midtown had a dirt basement. After removing debris, he created a cozy TV room, wine cellar and bath.

Hyosub Shin / hshin@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Andy and Kathy Smith turned their grungy basement into a stylish living space with a den and workout room.

Hyosub Shin / hshin@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Brian McGreevy transformed his horrible basement into a place where he escapes to listen to music and read.

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The basement of Will Pollock's 1921 two-story house was a mud room — literally. At some point in the home's history, an owner had poured a concrete floor, but there was so much water in the room that walls and floor were in bad shape.

"The room had been nagging at me since I bought the house four years ago," said Pollock. "But I also needed to improve the structural quality of the house since it was taking on a great deal of water."

The first order of business involved digging down another nine inches, pouring a new floor and exposing the foundation's brick walls. Then a trough was created around the room to collect water. A sump pump sends the water to a cistern in the front yard, where it's recycled for irrigation.

"So we turned a negative into a positive by having the water go into the front garden," said Pollock, who followed the re-use-it concept by arranging empty whiskey bottles found in the basement into a ledge below a window. He also took old doors from the house and turned them into cabinets in the wine room.

The project involved rebuilding the staircase from the kitchen above; adding a fully tiled bath with an open shower; and installing a tankless water heater and gray water system in a utility room. Five windows were custom made and added around the top of the walls.

"The windows really transformed the space from a dank, dark horrible basement to something exciting with a lot of natural light," said Pollock. "It's neat that I can stand in the basement, look out windows and see my neighbor's house across the street."

The living area is sparsely finished with a sofa and small desk beneath pendant lights. Pollock plans to add a TV and hook speakers into the sound system. But he's happy with it being a flexible space. "One of the things I like about it is that it can be a ping-pong table room or an art gallery, depending on what I want to do," he said.

Dunwoody redesign

Andy and Kathy Smith liked just about everything in the 1970 house they bought three years ago. But the underground basement was something else.

"It was done as a '70s beach scene, right down to the lighthouse on the six-foot steel support beam," said Andy Smith. "It had also taken in water, so it was moldy and rotted."

The couple took the room down to the cement floor and walls and spent several weeks applying a waterproofing treatment. "Then we watched it for a year to make sure we didn't take on any water," said Andy.

When they were finally ready for a re-do, the first objective was to eliminate the metal poles breaking up the room. In their place, the couple added one 18-inch steel support beam. "It not only made the room bigger, it made the house stronger," said Andy.

The next goal was to create a display areas for Andy's collection of antique toys, so black shelves and cabinetry were installed around a red Italian leather sofa set. They also wanted a media room, but didn't want to take up an entire wall with a screen. The solution was an 82-inch retractable screen that can be hidden when not in use. Even when open, the screen doesn't obscure the gas-log fireplace with its stainless steel tiles.

The couple made good use of the nook under the stairs, adding a small wine cellar that holds about six cases.

For color, the walls were painted a shade of wheat that blends with the camel-colored, deep-pile rug. One accent wall matches the red of the sofa.

A second basement room is used as a home gym, but could double as an in-law or teen apartment if the need arose. "There's a wet bar including a dishwasher, ice maker and refrigerator, so the only thing missing is a stove to turn it into a suite," said Andy Smith.

The space gets a regular workout now, said Andy Smith. "We use it about three nights a week to watch TV shows we've recorded. And when we have a party, we take the basement door off and there's a good flow through the house."

A "Man cave" in DeKalb

Shopping for a bigger house seven years ago brought Brian McGreevy and his wife, Brinda Cockburn, to the area north of Chamblee. Along with the extra space, the 53-year-old home's unfinished basement was a plus.

"For me, the main thing was that it had a lot of wall space," said McGreevy. "I needed a lot of linear feet for bookcases to hold my records."

McGreevy, a DJ and avid music collector, estimates that his collection includes 2,200 LPs, 300 45s, 1,000 cassettes and 11,000 CDs. "I used to have an attic apartment where the weight of my records actually bowed the floor," he said. "Here, I had enough room to raise the bookcases off the floor about 18 inches so I don't have to bend over too much. And I have another room just for record albums in crates."

Because of the delicate nature of his collection, the space had to be dry. "We waterproofed alongside the length of the house and put in a dehumidifier as well," he said. "Last year, we put in a new HVAC system and had new duct work installed just for the basement level."

Making the basement brighter was another big concern. McGreevy added white rope lights along the stairs and added lights to one bookshelf to brighten the entry. Wall sconces with dimmers and overhead lights inset in the ceiling pair with table and pole lamps to dispel the gloom. On one wall, a picture window provides natural light. To further brighten the room, McGreevy repainted with a blend of sky blue and desert oranges. The half bath is done in a rich yellow.

The finishing touches were a television, stereo and comfy couches where McGreevy can retreat with his music and books. "My wife doesn't spend too much time down here," he admits. "It's my man cave."

Expert tips — before you go down to the basement

That empty area below stairs may seem like a good place to turn into extra elbow room. But renovations expert Frank Wickstead of the Decatur-based Wickstead Works offers a few points to consider before you tackle the project.

1. Ceiling height: If there are HVAC or plumbing lines in the ceiling, it can be very costly to raise them to create enough headroom in the basement. "You often wind up replacing the HVAC tubes with more expensive ducts," Wickstead said. "And in most cases, you need to put a separate HVAC unit in just for the basement."

2. Waterproofing: Perhaps one of the most serious considerations of any basement makeover is ensuring dryness. "You can channel the water away from the walls by catching it in a trough at the bottom," Wickstead said. "The alternative is to waterproof from the outside, which means excavating down to the footings, waterproofing and then backfilling. This also can mean eliminating hundreds of dollars of landscaping."

3. Plumbing: Adding a bath or sink could be a challenge, depending on the height of the sewer line that leaves your house. Installing a pump to get the water out can be expensive.

4. Excavation: It is possible to dig out the dirt of an unfinished basement, but you can't go lower than the footings. Will there still be enough headroom?

5. Stairs: In many older houses, the stairs to the basement don't pass current building codes and need to be rebuilt. They're typically located under another staircase, so relocating them can be expensive.

6. Natural light: Having windows helps dispel that dungeon gloom. "Even an 18-inch transom at the top of the wall makes a difference," Wickstead said.

And all this is going to cost how much?

A good rule of thumb in metro Atlanta is to plan on spending about $200 for every square foot you're renovating, Wickstead said. "If you already have a concrete floor and don't have to redo a lot of the structural elements, that will save a lot of money," he said.